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What are readers saying about Z for Zachariah?
| Reviews of Z for Zachariah - Page 1 of 3 |
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-12-30 03:15:06.
(Language: English)
 
My Dad was a political activist and bought this book for me back in 1975/1976...to be honest i think i was too young to be reading it as i found it terribly disturbing. It's ominous and foreboding and doesn't smile at humanity. Zachariah was the book that took me out of my childhood safety zone. A++
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-10-16 12:49:53.
(Language: English)
I read this book some seven or eight years ago and the vivid depiction of a post nuclear war setting has remained with me to this day.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-03-17 04:08:16.
(Language: English)
It was the worst book I've ever read!!!! I was forced to read it in High School, almost 15 years later I'm still haunted by this revolting excuse for literature!!!!
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Fred posted a review at 2009-09-01 03:52:56.
(Language: English)
Excellent post-apocalyptic science fiction novel. Simplistic yet wonderful.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-10-16 12:46:37.
(Language: English)
I read it at the age of 21, although it seems to be a child's book, but I remembered having LOVED "The Silver Crown", so I couldn't resist to read that one (in English ! Even if it's not my mother langage, so pardon the mistakes ;o) ). And I was not desappointed at all, even if the beginning is a little bit too long (when Ann observes the man who arrived in her valley). I was afraid she would do that for the rest of the book... But then, I really felt the way Ann felt, which means that when she was afraid, so was I ! :oD Astonishing ! If Robert C. O'Brien had the power to make the reader feel that way, then he's really a great author ! Moreover the story is interesting (a war that destroyed almost all the human beings...) and I love the tittle, but to understand why, just read the book ! ;o) It's good and not so long to read :o)
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-10-31 02:38:39.
(Language: English)
Excellent. Thought-provoking read about a post-nuclear world.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-06-04 07:18:41.
(Language: English)
Great novel I read in grade 7 ,during the nuclear arms fears with movies such as Threads and The Day After, let my imagination run wild.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-12-05 04:25:04.
(Language: English)
I don't remember this book all that well, because I read it when I was about 13, but I DO remember it scaring the shit out of me.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-02-26 11:50:33.
(Language: English)
this book is just wierd...
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-12-01 07:22:04.
(Language: English)
I had to read this in high school but for some reason the story stuck with me long after I forgot the title, I recently re-found the title and purchased - still just as freaky to read as when I was a kid.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-01-08 11:25:27.
(Language: English)
Read it as a young teen. Really liked it.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-02-21 08:28:00.
(Language: English)
Excellent, thrilling suspense throughout, i have revised the book recently having read it at school many years ago- just as enjoyable and compelling today!
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-03-06 06:09:00.
(Language: English)
A teacher in high school read a little part of this book at the beginning of each class. For the longest time I couldn't remember the title. I happened upon it on a list of post-apocalyptic books and knew from the description right away it was the one I was looking for. I'm glad I re-read it. It shows the fears and strengths of a young girl and the human will to survive. Can't put it down
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Emily posted a review at 2008-01-25 10:13:51.
(Language: English)
When I first read this, I was totally and deliciously creeped out. I already knew O'Brien had a talent for nabbing a bit of sci-fi and throwing it into an opposing world. It all winds up being utterly horrifying and I guess I can't help but like it.Instead, this time, of working with cute little forest animals NIHM-style, O'Brien takes on the apocalypse, a sleepy valley that has pretty much survived the end of humanity and is now ready to for a little Twilight Zone-ish last-man-on-earth excitement.This book is nothing if not creepy, with very real emotions and intelligent references to religion, science, and literature--all still at a teen level. The human thought process is fascinating to watch and I was unable to guess as where the story would lead.Definitely worth a read.
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Jennifer posted a review at 2009-11-16 07:47:37.
(Language: English)
Reviewed by Lynn Crow for TeensReadToo.com Sixteen-year-old Ann Burden has been living on her own for a year, since the nuclear bombs turned everything surrounding her little valley into a wasteland, and her parents drove out to find other survivors... and never came back. Knowing she may be the only person left, Ann struggles with her loneliness and tends to the farm as best she can. But then a man comes over the hills in a protective suit and arrives in the valley. At first he provides Ann with welcome companionship, but as he recovers from a bout of radiation sickness, his actions become more sinister. Z FOR ZACHARIAH is an intense, heart-pounding read. From the moment Ann first sees smoke rising from beyond the valley, each development wrenches her further and further from the life she's adjusted to--seemingly for good, and then with terrible consequences. The pacing is perfect, and with the story being told through Ann's journal entries, every event feels immediate. The personal details and unflinching descriptions of life after a nuclear war make the story even more gripping. As the tension escalates, readers will find it incredibly hard to put the book down before they discover Ann's ultimate fate. While the story leaves this somewhat open-ended, Ann's ultimate victory will make them cheer. Ann is a likable narrator, with a natural voice and a well-developed personality. It's easy to sympathize with her based on her situation alone, but she is all the more admirable for refusing to give up even in the most desperate circumstances. She deals with her problems with intelligence and courage, but still has those moments of carelessness and fear that make her human. Readers will be on her side from the beginning, even as they struggle to imagine how they would feel in her place. Though her final triumph involves some loss, it's clear Ann will persevere and find a way to survive and be happy, which makes the ending satisfying. Z FOR ZACHARIAH is a story that will haunt readers long after they've put down the book. It shows both the good and the bad that can emerge from human nature in the face of catastrophe, and gives hope that even in the worst situations, there are those who will remain strong.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-03-20 08:59:54.
(Language: English)
This book was ok... Didn't like it a lot though....
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Kindred posted a review at 2009-08-21 04:22:00.
(Language: English)
It has been many years since I've read this one, but I still remain impressed by the writing. I managed to find an original edition in a resale shop. The independance displayed by the female character made a strong imression on me when I was younger, and I cannot wait to get my boxes of books back so I read through it again.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-11-24 07:21:49.
(Language: English)
Robert Conly (aka Robert C. O'brien)'s post-apocalyptic drama concerning the last two people left on Earth after a nuclear holocaust. Very stark in contrast with his earlier work (Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh et al), 'Z for Zachariah' is aimed at a more mature audience and deals with some heavy themes. I originally read this for my high school English class, and it left such a lasting impression on me that I had to come back to it. Reading it again after a decade or so, I found it to be an enjoyable, if somewhat flawed, read. The climax felt quite rushed compared with the pace of the rest of the book. This could no doubt be attributed to the premature death of the author before the book was completed. Apparently, Conly's wife and daughter finished it off after his death using his notes. Despite this, it is still a rivetting read!
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-05-10 09:34:08.
(Language: English)
great for YA
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-08-09 11:11:14.
(Language: English)
wasnt brilliant, we had to read it for english in school....i remember just finding it hilariously funny making jokes out of various scenes in the book!
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Jethro posted a review at 2012-01-19 11:20:31.
(Language: English)
Most Dull thing I have EVER read!!!
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-03-04 01:21:35.
(Language: English)
Read this about 10 years ago. An amazing book that stretches your imagination and keeps you turning the pages. I remember thinking whilst reading this that I felt like suffocating as I felt like I was the 16 year old in the book. It conveys feelings of loneliness and survival quite amazingly with a little dawn of the dead type feeling to it without the zombies!
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-08-23 05:59:00.
(Language: English)
Ann Burden has lived alone in a small town in a valley in the eastern USA for over a year following a nuclear war which appears to have rendered all land outside the valley (which has somehow mysteriously been spared) contaminated and uninhabitable. She thinks that she is the only one left in the world. One day, however, she observes a stranger climbing over a ridge into the valley. He is dressed in a radiation protection suit and is carrying a cart covered with the same material, and Ann watches him nervously while hiding out in a cave. Using a geiger counter, the man determines that the valley is uncontaminated, and in his joy goes and bathes in a stream which unbeknowst to him is carrying contaminated water from the outside. He quickly becomes sick, and Ann decides to go and meet him. The man, who is delirious, calls Ann "Edward" when she first sees him. When he is a little better, the man introduces himself as John Loomis, a plastics scientist who helped design the radiation-resistant material the suit and cart cover are made of. He was in his underground lab when the war began, and after the contamination, ventured out in the suit with supplies in his cart to try and find survivors, and he came across the valley. When Ann asks him who Edward was, however, he refuses to talk about it. The radiation sickness soon overtakes him and he falls into a coma, during which Ann takes care of him. He sometimes talks in his sleep, however, and during one of his dreams in which he does such, Ann learns that Edward was a lab colleague of his who wanted to take the suit to go and search for his family. John didn't want this, as he wasn't sure if he would bring the suit back, and they had a fight in which John murdered Edward. Nevertheless, Ann continues to take care of him. When he recovers, things are well for a while and they make plans on how they will cultivate the valley and survive onwards. But soon, John starts to go funny. He watches Ann possesively while she plays the piano, and she becomes nervous. Then, one night, he comes into her room thinking she is asleep and attempts to rape her. Ann is forced to flee. For several months the two play cat-and-mouse around the valley, with John ruthlessly trying to find Ann by using her family's dog which also survived, Faro, to track her, locking all the food and farming equipment in the barn and hence forcing her to come back or starve, and burning her possessions from the cave she was hiding out in. Ann wishes for them to coexist in the valley, but one day, when she approaches the house to speak with him, he shoots her in the ankle (presumably to cripple her so he can bring her inside, imprison, and have sex with her) and she realizes she must leave the valley. She steals the protection suit and the cart, but decides to talk with John one last time before she leaves. He attempts to kill her, but Ann tells him that if he did then it would be like what he did to Edward and he would truly be alone, and he instead points her in the direction out of the valley where he had seen birds circling; thus offering tentative hope both that the world has not been totally destroyed and that his character is redeemable. The book ends with Ann wandering in the wasteland, in hopes of finding another uncontaminated area and surivors that she dreamed about.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-01-07 09:02:12.
(Language: English)
very good book
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| Reviews of Z for Zachariah - Page 1 of 3 |
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